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Invincible (comics)
| publisher = Skybound Entertainment (Image Comics) | debut = Tech Jacket #1 (Oct. 2002) (first preview in comics – 6 page "Invincible #1" preview. Pre-dates Savage Dragon #102 and Masters of the Universe #1) Noble Causes:Family Secrets #3 (Nov. 2002) (cameo appearance – in variant cover and in one-panel) Invincible #1 (Jan. 2003) (full appearance in own title) | creators = Robert Kirkman Cory Walker | alter_ego = | full_name = Markus Sebastian "Mark" Grayson | species = Half-Viltrumite/Half-Human | homeworld = Earth | alliances = The Pact Teen Team Guardians of the Globe | partners = | supports = | aliases = | powers =Superhuman strength, speed, durability, and endurance Flight Extended lifespan Enhanced healing factor | cat = super | subcat = Skybound Entertainment | hero = y | villain = | sortkey = Invincible | addcharcat# = }} Invincible is an series named for its superhero, "Invincible" ("Mark Grayson"). Created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Cory Walker, Invincible first appeared in Tech Jacket #1 (October 2002), before graduating to his own self-titled regular series in 2003, as the premier title in Image's then-new superhero line. Invincible is the teenaged son of Omni-Man, an extraterrestrial superhero of the Viltrumite race. Invincible inherited his father’s superhuman strength and ability to fly and he has sworn to protect the Earth. He has had trouble adjusting to his newfound powers and coping with the reality of his origins. Publication history thumb|left|Creator [[wikipedia:Robert Kirkman|Robert Kirkman signing a copy of Invincible Compendium One at the 2011 New York Comic Con.|]] While Robert Kirkman has been the sole writer of the series, Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley have contributed the art. Cory Walker co-created the book and provided art from #1 to #7. Ryan Ottley assumed art duties with issue #8 and has been pencilling since. Kirkman has provided back-up space for a few aspiring comic creators, most notably Benito Cereno and Nate Bellegarde. Character biography and synopsis Markus Sebastian Grayson is the son of Nolan Grayson (Omni-Man) and Deborah Grayson. When Mark was seven years old, Nolan reveals that he is a Viltrumite, a race of peaceful explorers, and had come to Earth to help mankind and that one day Mark would develop super powers.Invincible #2 Mark's powers manifest while he is working at his part-time job.Invincible #1 Mark meets a young superhero group, the Teen Team (Robot, Dupli-Kate, Rex Splode, and Atom Eve), and realizes that he goes to school with Eve. They soon discover that one of their teachers has been turning students into bombs and has also turned himself into a bomb; Mark flies him to Antarctica before he detonates.Invincible #4 Nolan asks Mark to fight a superpowered alien who visits Earth periodically, but Mark decides to talk to the alien, named Allen, who explains that his job is to assess the strength of planets' superpowered protectors; Mark helps him realize that he had been coming to Earth by mistake for decades.Invincible #5 While Mark and his friend William visit the university they plan to attend, it is attacked by a cyborg, which leads to William finding out about Mark's powers.Invincible #6 Shortly afterwards, the Guardians of the Globe are attacked and killed by Omni-Man.Invincible #7 A new Guardians of the Globe is formed, but Mark declines membership; he begins dating Amber Bennett. Meanwhile, the Mauler Twins dig up and revive the Immortal, leader of the old Guardians.Invincible #9 The Immortal attacks Omni-Man, who kills him again in Mark's presence''Invincible'' #10 and then reveals that the Viltrumites are actually a warrior race who conquer planets for their Empire, killing anyone who refuses to join. He was sent to Earth as an advance agent and killed the Guardians in preparation for the invasion. Mark, refusing his father's entreaties to join the Viltrumites, tries to fight him''Invincible'' #11 but is almost killed before Omni-Man flies off planet in tears.Invincible #12 Mark is rescued by the U.S. government and introduced to Cecil Steadman, who is in charge of protecting the planet; Cecil used to inform Omni-Man of potential threats and offers Mark the same deal while financially supporting both his education and family. Allen the Alien returns to tell Mark that Earth is going to be invaded by the Viltrumites.Invincible #13 Mark is sent to marry the Queen of Atlantis, since his father killed the previous King, but he gets another Atlantian to marry her.Invincible #15 A man named Angstrom Levy has been traveling between dimensions recruiting his alternate dimension duplicates for a secret project; he also enlists the help of the Mauler Twins.Invincible #16 Mark is sent to Mars with a group of astronauts to keep them safe, but they are captured and almost executed by native Martians, who are trying to keep a slave race of aliens called Sequids from rising up. The astronauts and Mark escape, but one of the astronauts, Rus Livingston, is left behind and replaced by a Martian shape-shifter.Invincible #18 Eve retires from being a superhero and moves to Africa to make better use her powers, while Mark enrolls in college. The campus is attacked by another cyborg, which is revealed to be under the command of a student named D.A. Sinclair,Invincible #20 who then decides to turn his roommate (and Mark and William's friend) Rick into a cyborg called a Reaniman. Meanwhile, in order to get back together with Amber, Mark tells Amber that he is Invincible.Invincible #22 Allen returns to the Coalition of Planets and tells them about Mark, but is then brutally attacked by some Viltrumites.Invincible #23 Angstrom Levy has built a machine to combine all of his alternate selves' brains into his own. When Mark arrives to stop this, the Mauler Twins bring several of their alternate selves to the lab to fight him. Angstrom attempts to stop the machine to save Mark, which leads to a huge explosion. Mark survives, but Angstrom is hideously deformed, blames Invincible, and plans his revenge.Invincible #24 Mark fights an alien disguised as one of Mark's favorite comic book characters, Science Dog; the alien asks Mark to save his planet and Mark accepts. On the planet, he finds his father alive.Invincible #25 Nolan introduces Mark to his half-brother, whom he had with one of the native species.Invincible #26 When other Viltrumites attack the planet, Mark's father asks Mark to take his new family to caves for protection, but they meet a Viltrumite inside.Invincible #27 Mark and Nolan fight the Viltrumites, who have already killed most of the population;Invincible #28 Nolan is captured by the Viltrumites, sparing the planet. The Viltrumites put Mark in charge of readying Earth for invasion. Nolan tells Mark to read his novels.Invincible #29 After Mark helps repair the planet's cities, he returns to Earth with his half-brother, only to be reprimanded by Cecil for leaving Earth, as there was a crisis during his absence.Invincible #30 Mark's mother becomes attached to his new half-brother and agrees to raise him.Invincible #31 When Mark receives a phone call warning that his mother is in danger, he flies home and sees his mother beaten, next to Angstrom Levy.Invincible #32 Angstrom attempts to weaken Mark by dragging him through various dimensions, including the Marvel Universe.Invincible #33''Marvel Team-Up'' #14 Mark finds the portal to his home dimension and sees that Angstrom has beaten his mother. Enraged, Mark pulls him into an alternate dimension and beats him to death. Mark is rescued by a group of Guardians from 15 years in the future; the future Eve tells him that she loves him and says to tell his Eve how he feels so she can move on.Invincible #34 Mark's tailor informs him that Nolan had written science fiction books early in his career; these books have information on how to beat the Viltrumites.Invincible #35 Mark's roommate William tells him that their friend Rick (previously kidnapped by D.A. Sinclair) has gone missing. Several homeless people have disappeared from a park, so William dresses as a homeless person and sleeps on a bench with Mark watching, hoping this will lead them to Rick. When a Reaniman abducts William, Mark chases after but is attacked by three other Reanimen, including Rick.Invincible #36 As Sinclair begins operating on William, Mark and the Reanimen burst in. William gets Rick to attack the other Reanimen; Mark breaks Sinclair's jaw, but Cecil comes in and arrests them. Later, Cecil offers Sinclair a job with the government.Invincible #37 Mark goes to Africa to tell Eve how he feels, and they kiss.Invincible #38 Mark is called to help fight a Sequid invasion.Invincible #39 Using a device built by Robot to stun the Sequids,Invincible #40 Mark successfully stops the invasion. He and Amber break up.Invincible #41 Mark goes to press conference to talk about his father and his intentions. He then discovers his half-brother, Oliver, can fly.Invincible #42 Mark considers quitting college and then meets with Allen to show him his father's books. Eve finds out that Mark and Amber broke up and says they're dating now.Invincible #43 Mark tells Eve what her future self told him and that he doesn't feel that way about her; she storms off. Later, a female Viltrumite shows up, wanting to know how far he has come in preparing Earth for invasion. She tries to show how Earth may benefit from being part of the Viltrumite empire. After helping Mark save people on a sinking ship, she asks him if he is ready to work for the Viltrumites. When he refuses, she attacks him''Invincible'' #44 and informs him that a replacement will come soon to take over Earth.Invincible #45 Mark begins preparing for the invasion. Mark goes to Africa looking for Eve. Cecil pages him that Doc Seismic is holding all of the superheroes captive. Mark destroys Seismic and many of the monsters, but passes out from exhaustion. He then learns that Cecil hired Sinclair, the evil creator of the Reanimen, and Darkwing II, a psycho whom Mark had previously captured. He beats up Darkwing but discovers that no one knows he was actually a murderer. He talks with Eve about making the biggest mistake of his life. Cecil, thinking Mark is becoming evil, uses the Reanimen to attack him; Mark defeats them but discovers that Cecil has placed something in him to upset his equilibrium. After getting Robot to block the frequency, Mark destroys almost all of the Reanimen. Cecil fires him, and Mark says to stay away from his family. He goes home and tells the story to his mom, brother, and Eve. Eve and Mark go into the backyard, and he tells her that when he thought he was going to die, all he could think of was her; they kiss. Mark, now a free agent, tells Oliver that he needs to train him how to use his powers. They get new costumes, with Oliver insisting on being called Kid Omni-Man. They fight two super villains, and Oliver makes many rookie mistakes, but Mark forgives him. Back home, Mark hangs out with Eve, and they kiss again, only to be watched by a floating camera sent by the presumed-dead Angstrom Levy. The Mauler Twins have a new weapon and appear to have taken out the Guardians of the Globe. They become frustrated while fighting Mark and launch a nuclear missile. Oliver arrives, and Mark takes off after the missile; while he is in space, Oliver kills the Twins. Mark and Oliver argue over the right to kill, with Mark trying to convince Oliver that human life is precious. Mark tells Oliver he is too much like their dad. Oliver asks Mark if he ever thought their father was right, an d Mark replies discreetly: sometimes. Mark is disturbed at what Oliver has done and leaves his date with Eve early, returning home and arguing with Oliver. While on patrol, Mark comes across Titan and says he has not forgiven him for taking over Machine Head's corporation. They fight until a huge dragon attacks Mark. Titan escapes and we see that he is going to start a war with Mr. Liu and his team, which also consists of Multi-Paul (Dupli-Kate's brother). Mark comes across Eve in the sky and tells her he will meet her later. He returns home to talk to Oliver, and he forgives him. Oliver notices an orb in the tree. Mark and Eve realize they love each other, and sleep together for the first time. Meanwhile, Allen the Alien is in a Viltrumite prison, where Nolan is scheduled to be executed. Allen has become good friends with Nolan and breaks them out of their cells along with Battlebeast. Allen, Nolan, and Battlebeast fight the Viltrumites and eventually escape after Nolan reveals that there are only 50 pure blooded Viltrumites left. Mark receives a call from Amber and goes to see her. She says her father has died and her new boyfriend Gary is physically abusive. Meanwhile, Oliver is patrolling the city when he comes across a giant robot destroying the city; he is being followed by one of Angstrom Levy's floating orbs. Mark holds Gary over a building by his leg and threatens to kill him if he hurts Amber again. Mark goes to help Oliver, who says that the human inside the suit just wants to get out, and Mark says that they'll talk about it later. Amber, who is happy about what Mark did, tells him she is giving Gary another chance. Later, Mark apologizes to Oliver about not teaching him things. Oliver sees a reflection in the trees and Mark tries to get the orb, but it blows up in his hand. He realizes someone was watching them. He asks Cecil if it is him; Cecil says it was not, but asks if he can help track down a fugitive, who turns out to be Wolf-Man. Angstrom Levy finally makes his move. Flashbacks show that Mark had not actually killed Angstrom, who had just enough energy to make one last portal to a dimension where a group of aliens heal him of his wounds. After he recovers, he travels to other dimensions and gathers over a dozen evil versions of Invincible. The evil Invincibles launch a massive assault on Earth with the intent on not just causing damage but also ruining Invincible's reputation. Many major cities are destroyed, and Rex-Splode dies when he explodes his own skeleton in order to defeat an evil Invincible. The surviving evil Invicibles revolt against Angstrom, who uses his power to strand them in another dimension. An enraged Mark is ready to kill him, but Angstrom escapes with the loss his arm and returns to the beings that had healed him; due to his failure, however, they inform him he now works for them. Invincible visits Eve in the hospital while the rest of the super-powered community cleans up after the war. Invincible joins in but blames himself for much of the death and destruction. Cecil invites Invincible, Robot, Brit, Black Samson and Donald to join the new Guardians of the Globe, with Invincible as the leader, but Mark, still not trusting him, leaves. A Viltrumite named Conquest arrives to remind Invincible of his job of taking over earth. Invincible refuses and the two of them engage in a vicious battle, but Conquest is better trained and dominates the fight. Oliver tries to help but is nearly killed; a still recovering Eve rushes to help, but is killed by Conquest. Mark continues to fight, but is badly injured. Eve's powers somehow restore her to life, and she burns Conquest's skin off Conquest. Mark then headbutts the alien repeatedly until he crushes his skull; Mark then collapses. Invincible awakens in the Pentagon hospital some time later with Eve by his side. He joins the other heroes at Rex's funeral and afterwards visits Oliver in the hospital. Mark then reveals a shocking revelation he had during his fight with Conquest: in order to truly protect Earth, he must kill every villain he encounters from now on. Allen and Nolan, having escaped from the Viltrumite prison, search the universe for things that can hurt the Viltrumites. It is revealed that a virus produced by rebels of the Viltrumite empire was successful in killing over 99.9% of the Viltrumites. Their reason for attacking Earth is that human DNA is compatible with Viltrumite; they want to use Earth as a breeding colony. A character from Nolan's novels, the Space Racer, is revealed to be alive; he is found by Nolan and Allen, who convince him to join the upcoming war. Back on Earth, Invincible and the rest of the superheroes finish reconstructing the cities of the world. Invincible is attacked by a new villain called Dinosaurus, whom he is about to kill when he is interrupted by the Guardians. Later at Eve's house, he explains what happened; after an awkward dinner with her parents, Mark and Eve talk about their new business providing superhero services to prisons. Oliver arrives in his new costume; due to his rapid aging he now looks like a teenager and calls himself Young Omni-Man. While this is happening, Conquest, who was secretly kept alive by the government, escapes and flies into space. That night Eve finds out she is pregnant with Mark's child. The Sequids, who have been hiding in the sewers, commence their attack, led by Rus Livingston. At the same time a nuclear power plant is attacked by an alien woman named Universa. Mark answers the call from the nuclear plant before his mother can tell him about the Sequids. Universa tells Mark she is on Earth for the planet's energy and will not leave until she gets it. After a difficult fight, Invincible manages to get her staff, but Atom Eve sucker punches her. Cecil tells Invincible the Sequids are back; the battle against them seems hopeless, leaving Invincible no option but to kill Rus. Afterward, he returns to his house to tell Eve what he did and how bad he feels. Later, Invincible helps Titan battle his old master, but almost kills Titan in the process. The Viltrumite War Omni-Man returns to Earth with Allen the Alien and tells Mark that war is upon them. Mark is forced to leave with his father, Oliver and Tech Jacket to fight the Viltrumite Empire. During the first skirmish of the war, Invincible is nearly disemboweled by Conquest, but manages to strangle him. Mark's injuries require an extended two-month recovery, during which time the Viltrumite Empire regroups for their last stand. After a heated fight, in which Oliver is grievously injured and the Viltrumite home-planet destroyed, Mark falls into a two weeks coma. When he awakes, he is informed that the surviving Viltrumites have completely disappeared; Mark deduces that they have gone to Earth. The Viltrumites, realizing that a direct conflict could potentially kill off their race, bargain a truce with Invincible and Omni-Man. Instead of fighting, they will hide on Earth as neutral observers, holding off any attempt at conquest and restoration of their Empire for at least a thousand years. During this time, they will breed with humans and raise the Human/Viltrumite hybrids in secret. Despite the danger this poses, Invincible and Omni-Man realize this plan is safer than fighting a bloody war on Earth, and they accept the truce, ending the Viltrumite War. Post Viltrumite War Omni-man and Mrs. Grayson decide to visit Oliver and attempt to fix their broken marriage. They leave the house in Mark's hands for six months, during which time Eve moves in and Mark returns to his superhero role. Eve reveals that she had an abortion while Mark was fighting off-world.Invincible #79 The two embrace, seemingly moving on with their lives. Soon, Dinosaurus emerges again, planting a bomb in Las Vegas; when Invincible arrives to disable the bomb, Dinosaurus reveals that there are multiple charges placed in the city. The bombs detonate, destroying the city, leaving it as a sheet of glass.Invincible #80 Strongly affected by the Las Vegas incident, Invincible starts to change his outlook on how he helps people. He is attacked by Powerplex, but instead of fighting, he convinces Powerplex to end their pointless conflict. Mark tries this new strategy with Universa: he gets to know her, gives her the energy her planet needs, and sets her free. Cecil brings Mark to the white room, showing him the alternate reality Invincible Reanimen. Mark admits that they can help for the greater good. Mark later sees the good the government is doing by using the glassed Vegas as a source of solar energy. He realizes that Dinosaurus was right about his Las Vegas plan. With this, Mark visits Eve and asks her to trust him and to love him no matter what. Invincible frees Dinosaurus in hopes of becoming partners and of helping the world for the greater good. In doing so, Mark is tagged by Cecil as an enemy of the state. While Allen and Kid Omniman are en route to earth to deliver the Scourge virus into Earth's atmosphere, Dinosaurus and Invincible lead coordinated plans to help fix the world. During a brief argument with Eve about his new methods, Mark is informed by Cecil of Allen the Alien's return. Oliver and Allen reveal their plan to Mark, who, angry that they do not care that it endangers human life, disavows their plan and attacks them. During the scuffle, Regent Thragg enters the scene, vowing to help Invincible against his assailants. A standoff is reached until the Guardians of the Globe attack, leading Oliver to take the Scourge Virus to Earth and release it. When Mark tries to stop him, the virus is released on Mark point blank; infected, Mark is taken to Thragg's ship on the Moon to be treated. It is revealed by Thragg's scientists that Mark and Nolan are part of the original bloodline of the Viltrumite King. Knowing he could never have a traitor taking over his role, Thragg decides to secretly kill Mark; however, Dinosaurus steps in and fights him, almost getting killed in the process, and uses timed explosions to escape with Mark to his secret base on Earth. Mark soon learns that he has lost his powers (temporarily). In the meantime, Robot reflects on the centuries he spent with Monster Girl in an alien dimension. Previously, it was believed that they had only been gone a decade when in fact time, relative to our dimension, moved much faster there. Robot and Monster Girl orchestrated a revolution on the alien world in that dimension that had been periodically invading Earth in the hopes of changing their society. Supporting cast Non-superpowered * Debbie Grayson: Mark's mother, adopted mother of Oliver Grayson. * Amber Justine Bennett: Mark's ex-girlfriend. * William Francis Clockwell: Mark's roommate and best friend. * Cecil Stedman: Government liaison and head of the clandestine Global Defense Agency. * Donald Ferguson: Cecil's assistant, Guardians of the Globe contact, and android. * Art Rosenbaum: Tailor of superhero costumes and family friend of the Graysons. * Rick Sheridan: Mark and William's classmate at Upstate University, turned into one of the Reanimen. Superheroes * Omni-Man: Mark's father Nolan, formerly the greatest super-hero of Earth. * Oliver Grayson: Mark's alien half-brother. The result of a relationship between Nolan and a member of an alien race who have short life spans, growing at a rapidly increased rate compared to humans. Taking first the sobriquet of Kid Omni-Man and then Young Omni-Man, he attempts to rehabilitate Omni-Man memories in the general public. * Atom Eve: Former classmate of Mark's and member of the Teen Team. Eve was created as a result of a government experiment to create super-beings. Can manipulate all matter, although a mental block has previously stopped her from creating and manipulating living things. Previously dating Invincible, the couple are now engaged and expecting a baby. * Allen the Alien: Previously a Champion Evaluation Officer who worked for the Coalition of Planets. He traveled on a tight schedule and tested the skills of various powered heroes on each planet in order to determine if there is a suitable "champion" to defend that planet. Currently promoted to leader of the Coalition of Planets. * The Guardians of the Globe ** The Immortal: Apparently unkillable leader of the Guardians of the Globe. Currently is married to Dupli-Kate. Revealed to rule the world in the far future. Is finally killed by Invincible at his own behest. It's suggested in flashbacks that one of his past identities was in fact Abraham Lincoln. In the present storyline is alive. ** Black Samson: Lost his powers (and with them, his Guardian status) for a while before recovering them very abruptly. ** Robot: Former leader of the Teen Team and leader of the Guardians of the Globe until replaced by the Immortal. Not an actual robot, but a malformed human, living in life-support tank, he cloned a new human body for himself using Rex Splode's DNA with the help of the Mauler twins. Recently became romantically involved with Monster Girl. ** Rex Splode: Former member of the Teen Team and the Guardians of the Globe. Sacrificed himself to kill a hostile alternate-dimension Invincible. ** Dupli-Kate: Former Member of the Teen Team and the Guardians of the Globe. ** Bulletproof: Initially turned down of membership in the Guardians of the Globe, Bulletproof did later join the team and is currently a member. (In a related note, Bulletproof was one of the proposed names for the title character before the series saw print.) ** Shrinking Ray: Former member of the Guardians of the Globe, now dead. ** Monster Girl: A girl who was cursed by a gypsy, now able to turn into a large troll like being with super-strength. A side effect is that with each change into Monster-girl, her normal self becomes younger physically. Her boyfriend, Robot, however found a cure for the curse, allowing her to develop normally. ** The Shapesmith: A Martian, disguised as human Rus Livingston, who uses his metamorphic powers to change his shape. Currently a fugitive of Mars for allowing the Sequid fiasco to occur. ** Darkwing: Formerly Night Boy, The Original Darkwing's sidekick. He continued Darkwing's legacy but snapped and started killing criminals until Invincible apprehended him. A reformed Darkwing joined the Guardians of the Globe. He can teleport himself and others via the Shadow-verse using any shadow large enough to envelop him. Dragged one of the extra-dimensional Invincibles into the Shadow-verse and his fate is still unclear. Presumed dead. * Fightmaster and Drop Kick: Two time-travelling martial arts masters who stole the Declaration of Independence. From the same era as the future insane Immortal. Enemies * Mauler Twins: An evil scientist and his clone, whom both continuously argue as to which is the original. After the original was definitely killed, making them both clones, they switched to arguing which is the original clone. Recently both Mauler twins were killed by Kid Omni-Man; with no one alive to clone them it is uncertain if they will come back. * Angstrom Levy: A disfigured genius with the ability to leap across dimensions * The Viltrumite Empire: Invincible and Omni-Man's people. * Titan: Titan can encase his body in super-strong, nearly invulnerable rock. Titan first appeared in Capes. Titan was a member of the Order until Mister Liu revoked his membership. * Battle Beast: One of Machine Head's several henchman. He is later released from imprisonment on the Viltrumite Prison Warship where Allen the Alien and Omni-Man were held, and Allen the Alien used his insatiable lust for battles to coax him into helping in their jailbreak. * The Flaxians: Aliens from another dimension, in which time passes at a dramatically slower pace. * Machine Head: A crime boss with a robotic head. * D.A. Sinclair: A young and reclusive scientist at Upstate University, is the creator of the "Reanimen", robotic zombies intended to be "the soldiers of the future". Was last seen working on into building reanimen using the corpses of the extra-dimensional Invincibles. * Doc Seismic: A villain with special gauntlets that enable him to induce earthquakes. * Rus Livingston: An astronaut accidentally left on Mars, he's been attacked and made a host of the psychic Sequids. * The Lizard League: A group of lizard-themed terrorists, they are parodies of fictional reptile based villain groups The Serpent Society, HYDRA and Cobra. The Lizard League consisted of King Lizard, Komodo Dragon, Salamander, and Iguana; their secret headquarters lies in the Florida Everglades and bears a striking resemblance to a Cobra Terror Drome. King Lizard is the only member of the Lizard League to currently be alive. * Furnace: A villain with a massive steam-powered iron suit armed with dual flame-throwers and jets. He is actually a man made entirely of liquid heat from which the suit earns its power. * Magnattack: A villain for hire with the ability to apparently push metal objects away from him, hence his massive armor plated suit. * Kursk: A Russian villain for hire who can electrify single targets at a time. He was hired by Machine Head to deal with Titan, but was quickly defeated by the Guardians of the Globe. * Tether Tyrant: A freelance villain with a vest which houses elastic appendages which can pull and throw victims around. * Magmaniac: A freelance villain who is part lava. * Master Mind: A criminal with the ability to mentally control the bodies of large groups of people. Previously seen in the pages of Brit. * Bi-Plane: An age-old villain who believes in using old-fashioned technology for his attacks. Dead. * The Elephant: A small-time supervillain that has been described as a "lame Rhino rip-off". * Isotope: A character once thought to be modeled after real life comic book store owner James Sime of Isotope Comics in San Francisco, but as revealed by Robert Kirkman in the letter column of issue #67—the resemblance "is a complete coincidence... James Sime is a friend of the book, but Ryan didn't even know what he looked like when he drew that issue." * Giant: An eight-year-old boy who was pulled into another dimension where he transformed by a sorcerer into gigantic orange-red cyclops. He became a king in the other dimension until he was teleported back by one of his enemies. * Multi-Paul: Dupli-Kate's Brother and a member of the criminal organization called the Order. * Mister Liu: Mister Liu is an elderly Asian cyborg and high-ranking member of the criminal organization called the Order. He can project his soul out of his body; which takes the form of a giant oriental dragon. * Conquest: An elderly, battle-scarred member of the Viltrumite Empire and Invincible's most powerful enemy. thumb|185px|right|Several of Kirkman's superheroes. Cover art by [[wikipedia:Ryan Ottley|Ryan Ottley.|]] In 2003 and 2004, Image and Robert Kirkman published several other superhero series: Tech Jacket pencilled in a manga style by E. J. Su (cancelled at #6), the 3-issue Capes Inc. series drawn by Mark Englert and three oneshots starring Brit, the first two with artwork from Tony Moore and the third with artwork by Cliff Rathburn. In 2007, Brit was launched as an ongoing full-color series written by Bruce Brown, with artwork by Cliff Rathburn. The series is overseen and edited by Robert Kirkman. In late 2007, a two issue mini-series starring Atom Eve was released. Tech Jacket was first collected as a digest-sized, black and white graphic novel and later reissued in regular sized, full color and a cover scheme similar to Kirkman's other trade paper backs. Capes was collected as a trade paperback in summer 2007, and the three Brit one-shots were colored by Val Staples and published as a collection in 2007, as well. At first shown to barely coexist in the same universe, the characters have since been integrated into Invincible's book. Tech Jacket was an ongoing series that tied into Invincible #27, and the character has been seen in the background of various battles during the series. The characters from Capes have also been supporting characters seen mainly in large superhero battles Invincible participates in, and the series ran as a back-up in the Invincible book starting with #27. Brit has had an even less substantial role, appearing a couple of times in the aforementioned brawls (understandable considering that after the last book Brit was somewhat-retired). In The Astounding Wolf-Man, Art, Invincible's tailor, appeared, designing the title character's costume. Wolf-man has also appeared in Invincible #48 & 49. Continuity Invincible, along with Firebreather and other new Image superhero characters, debuted in an issue of The Savage Dragon, and has since appeared with several of the characters in The Pact mini-series. Robert Kirkman wrote a miniseries, Savage Dragon: God War and two Superpatriot mini-series, establishing the friendship between Superpatriot's wife Claire and Invincible's mother in the pages of Invincible ''#13 and later. ''The Savage Dragon connection is mostly downplayed and Invincible follows its own continuity, tied mainly with previously mentioned satellite Kirkman characters. Invincible also appeared in the fourth issue of Jay Faerber's Noble Causes, and was seen at the funeral for Captain Dynamo, father of the characters in Faerber's Dynamo 5. Similarly, Invincible #48 features cameo appearances from several Savage Dragon characters, as well as both Dynamo 5, and many of Kirkman's own creations, while an earlier issue featured a funeral for the Guardians of the Globe, at which many Image characters, including Savage Dragon and Jack Staff, were in attendance. Invincible #60 is a "done-in-one crossover event" with characters such as Spawn and Witchblade making appearances. During the invasion of Invincible's evil counterparts from alternate dimensions, the reader saw all Image heroes, like Spawn, Savage Dragon, Witchblade, Darkness, Firebreather, and Pitt fighting invaders alongside Invincible, the Guardians of the Globe, Brit, and Wolf-Man.Invincible's Done-in-One Crossover, wikipedia:Comic Book Resources, December 11, 2008 In December 2009, the Image website announced an Image United tie-in one-shot called Image United: Interlude. Shipping in March 2010, Invincible is prominently featured on the teaser cover of the first issue in front of a group of silhouetted characters covered in a classified information label. The website claims, "This March the effects of IMAGE UNITED go global with a glimpse of the crossover's impact on INVINCIBLE and many other Image Comics favorites... Collected editions Trade paperbacks With the exception of volumes 14 and 18, every volume of the Invincible trade paperbacks is named after a television Sitcom. Hardcovers Other collections * Invincible also appeared in Marvel Team-Up Vol. 3 #14, which was collected in Marvel Team-Up Volume 3: League Of Losers ISBN 0-7851-1946-9. This story occurs "between the pages" of Invincible #33. * In November 2006, the Official Handbook to the Invincible Universe was released. This two-issue series told the origins of all of the characters seen in the series so far, and was done in the style of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, including similar covers. The series was collected into a trade paperback in November, 2007. Adaptations The comic has been turned into a motion comic by Gain Enterprises using the Bomb-xx process, and is broadcast on MTV2Invincible – Episode 1 and downloadable to mobile phones, from iTunes,A Comic Book Superhero Is Headed to Small Screens, wikipedia:New York Times, July 14, 2008Invincible, Season 1 and Amazon.Invincible Season 1 Cast * Patrick Cavanaugh as Invincible * Mark Fountain as Nolan Grayson * Victoria Kelleher as Debbie Grayson * Wendy Allyn as Atom Eve * Stan Kirsch as Robot * Jeff Shuter as William Clockwell * J. Anthony McCarthy as Criminal * Tom Ohmer as Cecil Steadman * Hosea Chanchez as Mauler Twins * Daniel Kirschner as Criminals * Eric Wolfgang Nelson as Rex Splode * Keith Stone as Allen the Alien * Mike Connel as Derek * Bill Garnet as Art Rosenbaum * Leslie-Anne Huff as Dupli-Kate * Paul Kresge as Teen Bomb * Cynthia Sophiea as Mrs. Thatcher In popular culture * In the King of the Hill episode "Behind Closed Doors", Bobby is seen reading a comic entitled Unvincible, whose title and cover art is similar to the first issue of Invincible. Also, in the 13th season episode "Earthly Girls Are Easy," Buck Strickland plays with an Invincible action figure when planning his entrance at the benefit concert. * In the film Paul, Simon Pegg can be seen wearing an Invincible shirt, and issues of the comic appear in a comic book shop. According to Robert Kirkman, he, along with Invincible co-creator Cory Walker and current Invincible artist Ryan Ottley, had a cameo in the film as The Big Guy's henchmen. References External links * Official Invincible Website * Invincible at Comicvine Category:2003 comic debuts Category:Skybound Entertainment titles Category:Invincible Category:Characters created by Robert Kirkman Category:Extraterrestrial superheroes Category:Comics by Robert Kirkman Category:Fictional extraterrestrial–human hybrids